Donna's Donuts on the way to breaking goal of 1,000 dozen paczki sold

View full sizeJoseph Tobianski | The Flint JournalZane Cox of Grand Blanc, center, places cut paczki dough on a rake at Donna's Donuts in Flint on Sunday afternoon. Donna's Donuts will be working around the clock to complete paczki orders for Tuesday.

FLINT TOWNSHIP, Michigan — Donna’s Donuts owner John Gibbons was well-prepared for the bakery version of “Black Friday” — the rush for paczki on Fat Tuesday.

Gibbons hired 10 extra employees, scheduling them in continuous shifts to make, package and take orders for the Polish pastries filled with custard, cream or fruit.

“It’s organized chaos,” Gibbons said Monday. “It looks like a smoking room because of the sugar in the air.”

The 2011 goal is 1,000 but by Monday afternoon, Gibbons said he expects to exceed even that.

“We might do 1,200,” he said.

As of Monday morning, the shop already had sold 590 dozen since the paczki went on sale Sunday. Sales will continue through Tuesday.

Paczki traditionally are eaten on Fat Tuesday as a last indulgence before Lent.

Donna’s most popular flavors are custard, cream and strawberry although Gibbons said his favorite filling is prune.

Paczki are $1.10 for one, $6.60 for half a dozen and $13.20 for a regular dozen, not a baker’s dozen, he said.

The shop had 200 dozen pre-orders. It encouraged pre-ordering this year with an added incentive: Those who pre-ordered were entered into a drawing to win a dozen free donuts each week for the rest of the year and a $500 donation to the charity of his or her choice, Gibbons said.

Last year, the store sold out of paczki by 2:30 p.m. on Fat Tuesday.

Donna’s has been making paczki with the same recipe since 1962. Gibbons’ parents bought the store in the 1970s and Gibbons bought it from them in 2003, he said.

Cori Prichard, a decorator for Donna’s, said she expected to work an about 16-hour shift Monday.

“It’s very chaotic, but it’s very fun,” Prichard said. “We work well together as a team.”

Judy Messler, of Swartz Creek, and Donna Selves, of Flint Township, stopped by Monday afternoon for coffee and paczki.

Messler said Donna’s paczki had “generous filling” and bought a lemon one to take home to her husband.

“Usually you get a little squirt of filling and then you have just dough,” she said.

Brenda Lee, of Flint, didn’t know it was paczki time until she got to Donna’s, she said. Still, she said getting paczki from a small bakery like Donna’s is best.